Highschool Never Ends
by Neurotic-Isopod
Summary: Gabriel/Oc centric Story. Based while Gabriel is in Highschool. Cute fic. Rated T for later chapters.


Sum: Gabriel/Oc centric Story. Based while Gabriel is in Highschool. Cute fic.

Highschool Never Ends:

Part I

Chapter One:

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><p>She had always known Gabriel Gray, well at least in the way of recognizing him when she saw him in the hall or sitting alone in the library, a book in his nose. She knew that he was a social pariah, too smart for his own good, even the the freshman picked on him. Being herself she felt guilty when she saw him being hassled, but like everyone else she mostly turned a blind eye.<p>

The first time she'd met him was because of Suzanne Kimble, cheerleader captain who instructed her to lure him onto the field. It was her test to get onto the team. She did it, and god she never forgot the spark of innocent, but wary hope in is eyes, she never forgot what they did to him on that field.

He barely even lifted his head at school after that, his face seemed constantly abashed in humiliation. If anything 'good' came from it, it was that she made the team.

The second time she really met Gabriel Gray was in their Jr. Year, her grades were drastically dropping, probably having something to do with parties that she sneaked out to go to every night. Her father was threatening to kick her ass all the way to her uncle in Pennsylvania if she didn't pull a passing grade.

The next day she went to her councillor and arranged getting a peer tutor, something cheap. After school it was arranged for her to meet the peer tutor at the public library, just a short walk away from the school. It was to her horror that Gabriel Gray sat at the desk, completely alone in the library. She considered walking or running away, but knowing this was her last chance for salvaging her grades she kept her head high as she walked over to him.

"Your my peer tutor?" Gabriel jumped up and as soon as he raised his eyes to hers he froze, knowledge and shame inflicting both their eyes. She struggled to pretend she didn't remember, but her cheeks were already stained with shame, her mouth parted slightly. Surprisingly it was Gabriel who continued.

"I'm Gabriel Gray," He muttered, shoving his eyes to the desk. Jasmine swallowed the lump in her throat and played along.

"I'm Jasmine, you can call me Eva though." she wondered why she said that, told him to call her Eva. It was her middle name and no one had called her that for a long time. Everyone just called her Minny, or Jas.

"What do you need help with?" His voice was a poor disguise for the lurking resentment beneath.

"I- um." She collected her thoughts and pulled out the chair, slinging her heavy bag from her shoulder and setting it on the table with a thud. Concentrating on that, she kept her voice steady. "Pretty much every subject. Math, Biology, chemistry... History-"

"Funny, I thought cheerleaders were A + students." if any of the colour had begun to drain from her cheeks it came back now, his words stinging.

"Listen," her voice wobbled and she stood up, "If you don't want to help me, I get it, just tell me and I'll leave." His eyes met hers unnerving her indignation, they were a mix of honey coloured brown, piercing her from behind his thick nerdy glasses. Her grey eyes faltered.

"No.. I'm sorry I didn't mean to-.." He took his eyes from hers becoming shy again. He swallowed his tongue making a smacking sound as he cleared his dry throat. "uh, please just sit down again." She did, keeping her eyes on her brightly coloured fingernails. "Which subject is your worst? we can start on that." She exhaled shaking her blonde hair as she looked upwards as if taking the answers from the ceiling.

"Math and Chemistry are the worst, I'm actually just barely passing Biology and history is... a bit below I guess." She admitted sheepishly, peeling open her bag and taking out the text books.

"We'll start with math then, interchange the subjects daily, do you do anything during lunch?" Jasmine glanced up in surprise, realizing what he was entailing.

"Everyday? I- I can't come here everyday.." She objected, panicked at the thought of her friends finding out she was being peer tutored, especially when it was Gabriel tutoring her. God she'd be taunted for months. " I have cheer practice, and games to go to!" She stammered wondering suddenly how on earth she was going to be able to cram 'studying' into her life. Gabriel stayed silent as she deflated at the realization. "I- I can do lunches once a week." Yeah, she thought, I can get away with that. "and maybe like three days a week, tops after school."

"I guess we should get started then. . I can't guarantee you'll make a passing grade though." He seemed pleased with the thought that it wouldn't and her eyes narrowed.

"Whatever. Lets just start." She flicked her hair over her shoulder, her brow furrowing as he opened the book.

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><p>"Here." Gabriel pointed at the where she went wrong with her math. "Your doing division before subtraction again."<p>

"Ugh!" She sat back moodily with her arms crossed glaring at the equations spread out before her. "This is stupid!" She growled sulkily, Gabriel sighed, keeping himself the image of a calm tutor.

"Just try the next one." Scowling, a breath hissing as it escaped her she leaned back over the sheet dutifully, her blonde hair caressing the desk. From the part in her hair Gabriel could see the purple bruising of a hickey spot. He looked away hurriedly as she leaned back, shoving the paper towards him.

"It that right?"

".. Yes." Eva huffed at the equation on the piece of paper._ How did you get so smart?_ She wanted to scream half of the time she was with Gabriel Gray. In the beginning, the first week that question had begun in her mind she thought it with resentment and annoyance.

After awhile though, the more time he spent correcting her errors and explaining what she was doing wrong for the millionth time in her mind the tone of the question changed into something kinder and softer until it became something like admiration and envy as she watched his eyes as he studied her work.

She wished silently that she knew what was going on behind there, she wished she knew what he was thinking, maybe then something would sink into her thick skull.

It was that day though, that the question just seemed to fall out as he was correcting her maths assignment, marking what she'd done wrong and things she'd done right.

"How did you get so smart?" Her voice broke the lengthy silence that usually lapsed between them and her mouth immediately snapped shut when she realized she actually uttered the question aloud. Gabriel raised his eyes fleetingly to her looking surprised.

"I read things." He stated simply his tone insinuating that she didn't making her scowl.

"So do I!" She replied indignantly crossing her arms and regretting ever having said anything.

"Other than magazines?" He asked almost playfully dampening the hurt of his words and simply making her blush. Biting her lip she actually tried to remember the last book she read... Her cheeks burned darker crimson and Gabriel watched her intently as she sometimes found him doing with an odd intensity behind his eyes that sometimes captured him.

"Well what do you read?" She asked suddenly feeling uncomfortable under his studious gaze, Gabriel seemed to blink, woken from his staring and looked away as if he realized what he was doing and was embarrassed. Jasmine couldn't help but wonder why, I mean sure it made her uncomfortable but he hadn't been looking at her in _that_ way. Not the way that most boys looked at girls.

She didn't know why he had to go and be embarrassed about everything, it sort of annoyed her how passive he was. Sometimes she felt like reaching across the table and making him look at her when she let it get to her. The annoyance pushed her now and she held her arms tighter against her chest lest the feeling escape the way her words seemed to have slipped out.

"Things like Faust.." He answered, using someone he knew she'd never heard of. Silently Gabriel Gray wished he could impress this girl. "Sometimes just history books and Sherlock Holmes." Her eye brows shot up at that, excited that she actually recognized something he read.

"Sherlock Holmes, he writes those mystery novels right?" _See not that stupid after all_. She thought triumphantly as Gabriel glanced at her looking a tad condescending as he spoke.

"He doesn't _write_ them, he's a character of the novel, Arthur Conan Doyle _wrote_ them." She tries not to let his words burn her and continues before they can.

"Well is he any good?" She pressed.

"The mysteries are well played out, sometimes overly simplistic plots-" He stops when he realizes that she's not interested in his well thought out critique of it and answers simply. "He's good." he answers clearing his throat.

"Can I borrow them then?" She asks and he looks at her as if he didn't hear her right.

"What?"

"Can I borrow the books?" If they helped make Gabriel Gray the genius that he is she imagines that it wouldn't hurt to follow by example. Gabriel doesn't follow her silent line of reasoning and his eyes narrow suspiciously. "What?" She snaps at his gaze. "Its not like I want to burn them or anything." She says is in joking annoyance but knows Gabriel probably actually suspected something along those lines.

"You'll take care of them?" He asks worriedly, his eyes guarded as if by lending her something he was leaving something of himself vulnerable.

"Duh!" Its really the only phrase that could ever make Gabriel sound stupid, and even then it was sort of lame. "I promise, they'll be in like mint condition." she promises eagerly, urging him to say yes with the brightness in her grey eyes. It was a look that got her a lot of things from a lot of people, she only hoped Gabriel Gray wasn't resistant to it.

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><p>He wasn't.<p>

He doesn't know why she wants to borrow his books so bad but he ends up promising to bring them the next time he tutors her which happens to be two days from then.

During class and at school Gabriel notices for the first time she actually starts looking at him, or at least acknowledging him and his presence in the hall rather than pointedly ignoring him like she used to. Its not especially friendly as she doesn't wave or speak, its actually something of a muted shyness between them, like an extended courtesy she developed for him.

Though he doesn't really understand it or particularly enjoy the feeling, as it is bitter sweet, Gabriel begins to look forward to their lunch sessions and after school time. At their next allotted study 'date' he brings the books and she actually gives him a smile of appreciation. It makes him a little dizzy and embarrassed and the next two hours of working he hardly looks at her.

It was after he returned home and he was laying in his room, his eyes having strayed to the empty space in his bookshelf where the Sherlock Holmes books sat that Gabriel realizes that yet again Jasmine had lured him into doing something he wouldn't normally do. He cringes at the thought of the first time, something he could hardly bring himself to think about and merely hopes that this time it wasn't a cruel joke. That this time she really might like him.

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><p>AN First Chapter, good? Bad? Horrific? Let me know, I've had this tucked away for quite awhile and always thought it was a cute story so I figure I might as well post the first chapter. Just to get an overall estimation on it ya'know...


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